Ep. 254 - Rob Hopewell: It’s Not a Bubble, and Your Phone Is a Data Center (Yes, That One)

Rob Hopewell’s been in data centers so long I keep accusing him of starting at 11 — UUNET, EdgeConneX, now running QTS sales. We get into why this AI moment isn’t the dot-com bust, why the phone in your hand is a data center, and how our industry can finally explain itself. Chapters: 0:00  From UUNET to now — the early internet, peering, MAE East/West 5:44  “Unprecedented” — solving first-time problems (spiky AI load, the utility) 7:47  Selling power, not square feet — the model that changed the industry 11:48  A day in the life running QTS sales — deals at the C-level 14:16  What the dot-com bust taught him — strategy, relationships, hustle 15:29  The 2016 hyperscale pivot — the Freedom Design and the availability zones 19:04  “Plan B: make plan A work” — the first deal, and Blackstone 24:09  EdgeConneX and what “the edge” really is 30:37  Building speculatively — the formula that won Atlanta 36:04  The messaging problem — what a data center actually is 40:09  Why AI isn’t a bubble (and meeting OpenAI in 2017) 45:08  “One throat to choke,” building sales talent, and the takeaway: culture Links: Rob Hopewell on LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/robhopewell/] QTS Data Centers: Q.com Thank you for visiting our channel, be sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe!  Learn More about QTS Data Centers on the QTS YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/users/qtsdatacenters Think you have a great topic for a podcast or would like to schedule an interview with Dave? Send in your requests to [email protected]